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Interpretive Summary: Vitamin D has emerged as a critical nutrient because of its role in bone health and its potential link with other diseases and conditions. However, estimates of vitamin D intake from food were not available until now. This report, based on data from the What We Eat In America, NHANES 2005-2006, provides estimates of mean usual nutrient intakes of Americans for vitamin D and also for calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. The nutrient estimates, from food and water only, are compared to the Dietary Reference Intakes published by the Institute of Medicine, of the National Academies. This report is available on the Food Surveys Research Group Web site at http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/fsrg.

Technical Abstract: This report presents national estimates of usual nutrient intake distributions from food and water for vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium and compares those estimates to the Dietary Reference Intakes published by the Institute of Medicine in 1997. Estimates are based on data from 8,437 individuals ages 1 year and older (excluding breast-fed children and pregnant or lactating females) and 327 pregnant females 19-50 years of age who completed a 24-hour dietary recall in the 2005-2006 What We Eat In America, the dietary interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-2006. Data include nutrient intake estimates from food (both naturally present and fortified) and water only and exclude nutrient intake estimates contributed by dietary supplements and medications or that obtained by sunlight. Statistics are reported for 22 gender/age/lifestage groups. The nutrient values for this report are from two sources. The vitamin D values are based on the Vitamin D Addendum to the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 3.0, and the values for the remaining nutrients are based on the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 3.0 (both derived from the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard References Release 22.